BEIJING: The latest section of the Beijing-Xiong’an Expressway opened to traffic on Saturday, reducing travel time from the capital to the new area in neighboring Hebei province to around 50 minutes, according to the Ministry of Transport.
The new section runs from the southwestern part of Beijing’s Sixth Ring Road to the municipality’s border — a total of 12 kilometers. The entire expressway, when completed this year, will stretch 82 km.
It takes about 50 minutes from the Sixth Ring Road in the southwestern part of the capital to the new area, saving up to 30 minutes, according to the Ministry of Transport.
“It is the most convenient express road link between Beijing and Xiong’an and greatly enhances transport efficiency,” said Wang Jianhui, an official from the Beijing Commission of Transport.
The newly opened section of the expressway will also relieve traffic pressure on other roads in the capital, he said.
The section connects to an expressway to Beijing Daxing International Airport, making travel to the air hub easier from Xiong’an, Wang added.
The Beijing-Xiong’an Expressway, which will extend more than 100 km when completed, has about 27 km in Beijing and 75 km in Hebei.
The Beijing section, with a total investment of 12.2 billion yuan ($1.77 billion), has four lanes in each direction.
The newly opened section runs parallel with the high-speed rail line from Beijing to Shijiazhuang — the provincial capital of Hebei — reducing the impact of the transport network on the surrounding environment, according to Cui Genqun, president of China Railway Jingxiong (Beijing) Expressway Development, which is in charge of the expressway’s construction and operation.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
